VIEWS FROM THE LOCH
Angling,news and comment from around the loch. The news pages of St Mary's Angling Club on St Mary's loch in the Scottish Borders UK.

Sunday, 24 August 2014

Choosing a fishing guide 2!

Photo 01 - My membership of the cane club! see below.

A guide to choosing a fishing guide!

Following on from the success of our initial “choosing a fly fishing guide”
site which brought about significant and welcome changes in the local scene we
now offer our revised guide. For expediency fishing guides should be taken to
include casting instructors also. Personally I think local clubs have slipped
up badly in allowing these people to come in and make a living out of club or
association water. In our club if there is any tuition or guiding required then
we see to it ourselves rendering the services of these people redundant! Informed choice is the only way to make a decision when hiring a fishing guide, here we give you the information to enable you to make that choice.

We currently have a submission to the Scottish Government asking for
mandatory regulation of these people. We felt this necessary due to the
shambolic situation we uncovered in the Scottish Borders with unqualified people everywhere calling
themselves fishing guides or instructors demeaning the standing of those who did go the extra mile and gain suitable qualifications. These people are responsible for your
safety and wellbeing when hired and we found have a go Harry’s with no first
aid qualifications, no instructor’s certificates and no vetting by Disclosure
Scotland! Quite frankly it was a joke and Marine Scotland should be thoroughly
ashamed that they are allowing this to take place!

Unqualified,
unaccountable and non regulated fishing guides may be operating in this area!
It is imperative if you are seeking the most fulfilling experience with a
fishing guide that you book one that is fully qualified and accountable!

With the well being of anglers
coming to the Borders in mind we have constructed the following notes to help
those anglers who may wish to use the services of a fishing guide. The fishing
guide set up in this country is different to that for instance in the USA where
mandatory registration, education and regulation is commonplace as indeed it
should be! There is no government
regulation in this country which has led to the embarrassing situation of
unqualified “overnighters” pumped up with their own importance springing up and
inflicting themselves on unsuspecting anglers!

These unqualified “overnighters”
despised by the general angling population and alienated by their qualified
counterparts are just that – waking up one morning magically transformed into a
fishing guide and deciding to earn some easy money “guiding” anglers! With no thought towards personal
development and acquiring advanced qualifications these people should be
avoided like the plague! They are unqualified in fishing skills and life
support techniques! They are unregulated! They invariably have not been vetted
by Disclosure Scotland! They are unaccountable! You need to ask yourself why they have not
sought to attain readily available qualifications and develop skills to
demonstrate commitment, professionalism and ultimately by use of measured
advanced skills give to the angler the best experience possible! These people
treat anglers with utter contempt by the very fact that they have taken no
steps to professionalise themselves, content to invest in nothing and yet take
from angler’s often exorbitant sums of money!

Photo 02 - locking ferrules and clean cork!

A “fishing guide” who cannot demonstrate a
degree of commitment by investing in his “profession” can only offer his client
a second rate service! A qualified fishing guide has expended much time, money
and considerable effort in order to give the angler the very best of service!

What is the difference between a
qualified and unqualified fishing guide?

It is imperative that you check qualifications against the issuing body eg APGAI as it is possible some unqualified types may slip through the net.

You will encounter guides that
have spent some considerable time, money and effort to be at the very pinnacle
of guiding! With unqualified “overnighters” you have no such facility, your
moneys gone, end of story!

Professional development is of the utmost
importance to ensure the anglers experience is the best it can be!
Unqualified “overnighters” invariably offer a second rate service due to the
low level of skill and knowledge!

Gaining
advanced qualifications serves to demonstrate to clients that significant time,
money and effort have been expended with the specific aim of optimising the
client’s experience!

Photo 03 - nicely glossed mid section!

How to avoid booking an unqualified “overnighter”!

Simply put, do your homework and get in touch with local clubs who will be happy to advise you. If however you come upon
a fishing guide website here are some easy ways to determine their status –

(1) Try and check the site with locals in the area using agencies such as angling clubs!

(2)If they advertise being APGAI
trained go to the GAIC website and if they are not listed then they are not
qualified with this body!

(3)Ask to see evidence of their qualifications, and if they cannot do so
dispense with them! Do also speak with a member of the local fishing club they
will know the guides worth hiring!

(4)If a guide is part time you need
to ask why this is the case. The best guides seem to be mostly full time
guides!

Be careful of booking a guide on the advice of a B&B or hotel as
there are often financial links involved and your experience could be at risk!

Remember your guided day will
cost a significant amount of money; we want to ensure it is spent wisely giving
you the best possible experience! We only recommend one guiding business who has advanced qualifications in all the areas we call for and that is Damsel fly fishing - http://www.damselflyfishing.co.uk/index.htmOur words were penned only after
a thorough investigation lasting over six months and a modicum of common sense!
Our aim in this exercise is simply to raise the standards expected of fishing
guides and to expose those unqualified “overnighters” who treat anglers with
derision and utter contempt by not being prepared to invest in education and
training thereby denying the angler the best possible experience. These pseudo “fishing guides” also demean
the standing of those guides who do put their clients first by investing
heavily in advanced training!

In order to obtain a
first rate guaranteed fishing guide service you must book a guide who list qualifications that can be verified!

Photo 04 - Original Agate butt ring, tip ring is also Agate.

The bottom line!

There is a simple choice to be
made between booking fully accountable, trained, educated, subject to
regulation and experienced fishing guides and greenhorn unqualified
“overnighters” whose credentials (if indeed they have any) are to say the least
dubious!

If a fishing guide cannot
demonstrate a commitment to anglers by investing in further education then he
is a charlatan and unworthy of being hired as a guide! It is a continued source of embarrassment to right thinking anglers and
I would imagine qualified fishing guides in the Scottish Borders that such unqualified
“overnighters” exist in the area! There is an urgent need to increase standards
and levels of regulation with regard to the operation of fishing guides,
allowing unqualified guides to roam the area does not progress this aim! Dragging
down the standing of angling in the Borders these overnighters will not
voluntarily tell you that they are unqualified! However the fact remains that
such unqualified people do exist, it is therefore only right and proper that
you be made aware of this!

In everyday life for peace of
mind we invariably lean towards those who can demonstrate education, integrity
and professionalism for our well being. You would not hire an unqualified
electrician to come and rewire your house, hiring a fishing guide is no
different! Booking a fishing guide who operates out with these parameters will
invariably lead to a second rate experience WITH NO OPPORTUNITY FOR RECOURSE! For your own peace of mind
please book a qualified, accountable and subject to regulation fishing guide with verifiable qualifications! Do not accept at face value what is written on websites,
check advertised qualifications in the manner we have described above! You may find people listing terms such as being an associate member which invariably means they are apprentices who are seeking money before they have obtained the correct qualification!Update

Gala angling Association were recently pulled up by two of their riparian owners for "allowing "fishing guides to operate commercially on their waters. We warned this situation would arise and we can fully see why the owners took this position. You should check your guide has the required permissions before entering the water!

Please do not e mail us for a recommendation as to the choice of a fishing guide, we have stated clearly the company we recommend. All e mails in this respect will be unanswered!

The cane club!

I first had a split cane rod back in the late
sixties learning my craft on the river Gala. Like every other youth I always
wanted what I perceived to be better and had a brief excursion with fibreglass
before moving on to the all singing and dancing carbon fibre. There was no
denying that the new tool was lighter making an all day session that bit
easier. What followed was all on the carbon theme with various mixes such as
boron, lamiglass and others whose name eludes me.

I read an article on the Rawson &
Perrin website http://www.rawsonandperrin.co.uk/split-cane-fly-rods.htm about cane and immediately became enthused about the type of rod
that I (shamefully) quickly ditched in favour of space age carbon. And so it was a couple of
years back I bought my nine and a half foot 1955 Carter of London fly rod and
was immediately captivated by the lazy full through action rod that was a
delight to cast and even better when playing fish. Most fly rods today are tip
action or middle to tip action. Oh you can’t put the pressure on a fish that
you can with a carbon poker, gentleness and thought is called for!

There is a sense of total involvement as the
rod responds to minute changes made by the played fish and the rod is actually
much stronger than it feels but if a heavy fish is encountered then the fish would
have the best of it! With this in mind I bought a 1948 10ft split cane fly rod originally
owned by a Dr Tom Bliss a GP in Edinburgh a couple of months ago.

I found out from the vendor that Dr Bliss had
bought the rod new just after the war to re engage with a pre war hobby. The rod was
thought to be a Hardy but this is not verifiable as Dr Bliss had the rod
restored later with brazed and cleaned rings and new whippings and cork
handle thought to have taken place in the late fifties. The maker’s marks were
lost at this time; apparently Dr Bliss was a modest unassuming man and would be
quite happy with an anonymous rod unlike so many of the brags seen today! Dr
Bliss apparently often loch fished around the Edinburgh area so it may be that the
rod has previously fished St Mary’s loch!

Sadly Dr Bliss died soon after and his widow
gave the rod to his long time angling friend the father of the vendor from whom
I purchased the rod. The rod was hardly used from then on and lived in an attic
in Kent until a few months ago when I purchased it. The Carter rod is good as a light Trout rod but
this is on an entirely different level with regard to versatility. As happy
playing 3-4lb fish as it is a 6oz tiddler from the Gala. I would be confident
of landing a sizeable Salmon on this rod such is its capability. The rod has an all
enveloping through action bending from the tip to the butt in a most pleasing
curve

Who cares if it is a Hardy, it is a great rod
crafted by people made with devotion and know how! All I have done to it is
cleaning the handle and brass work and re varnishing the blanks. This of course
joins my 15ft Alex Martin Salmon Greenheart rod which to my eternal shame has
yet to be christened! Imagine my surprise when Les Henderson announced that he
had purchased locally a mid sixties 9ft Forshaws of Liverpool fly rod the model
being the “Palace 10”. I have seen it but it has not yet had an outing, watch
this space for a review on what looks to be a very capable and satisfying fly rod.

Another angler re visiting the past,
rediscovering the peerless pleasures of cane. I wonder who will next rediscover
split cane rods, Stevie Nimmo Elliot Fraser or Pete Young! Check out e bay for a thriving market
dealing in split cane, still masses of bargains to be had! Go buy one and join the cane club!

Thanks

Once again we have to extend our thanks to bailiff Aaron for the important work carried out yesterday. We cannot reveal the nature of that work suffice to say the club benefitted from their endeavours!Thanks lads!

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Important information for members

For fishing information please phone 07980350031

If you would like to join the club or renew your membership please click the link below to download the form.https://sites.google.com/site/stmarysloch/club-membership-1The next event for members is membership renewal. You may renew from the 1st of January until the 31st of January 2017. failure to renew within this time frame will result in the £20.00 joining fee being implemented. Joining/Renewal form click the link

Club AGM will take place in February/March 2017 date and venue to be announced.